 Moguls from central Asia, related to the Turks, conquered the Indus plain  Akbar was made ruler at 13 in 1556  At 19 he led the army and over 43 years they expanded the Mogul empire (he almost never lost a battle!)  Created a money system  Taxed farmers based on land  Had irrigation and canals built to increase water supply to farmers  Unified Hindus for period of unity and power

 At 20, Akbar married the daughter of Hindu leader  He put her father and other Hindus in the Muslim government  He let Hindus build more temples again  He took away the extra tax on Hindus  Akbar had a building in his palace where people from any religion could talk (he liked to listen to their debates)

 He had a huge library with books from other empires and continents  He was illiterate but had someone read to him every day  He loved arts and music and crafts and had many huge forts and new palaces designed and built  Akbar died in 1605 at 63 years of age and left behind one of the richest and most powerful empires in the world

 Emperor of the World”  Akbar’s grandson, Shah Jahan, ruled from  He expanded the Mogul empire  Spent a huge amount of money on building beautiful things and buildings (his throne cost twice as much to build as the palace it sat in!) “

 Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built in honor of his wife (died in 1631)  His wife was named Mumtaz Mahal  It took 20 years to build  Was one of the most expensive buildings built under  Is over looked by the Agra or Red Fort built by Akbar  It’s considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world  Made of white marble with passages from the Koran (to honour the beliefs of Islam)

 Shah Jahan could afford to build theTaj Mahal because of trade with Asia, Africa, and Europe  Silk and spices were traded to eager merchants from Netherlands, Portugal, and England

 He was the grandson of Babur who founded the Mogul dynasty  Akbar is considered as the greatest Mogul emperor  He was only 13 when he was named the emperor following the death of his father  He married the daughter of a Hindu leader Akbar was a carpenter, artist, blacksmith, emperor, inventor, animal trainer, etc, etc.  The day Akbar died, the Mogul empire covered almost 1 million square kilometres

 He was the fifth Mogul ruler  While he was young, he was a favorite of Akbar.  He succeeded to the throne on his father’s death  He is considered one of the best Moguls, his reign is considered as the Golden Age of the Moguls  He made great monuments, his greatest is the Taj Mahal made as the tomb of his dead wife.  On his death, the Mogul empire spanned about 9/10 the size of India today

 People: Akbar, Shah Jahan, and Mumtaz Mahal  Places: Agra, and Taj Mahal  The End!